Three years ago, Neil Cairns was one of 20 million people laid off in the initial wave of the pandemic, struggling to make ends meet after the bar he worked in closed down. 

Since then, he’s had a number of jobs, including bartending in an Irish pub, digitizing documents and working in pest control. But now, as manager of a Bricks & Minifigs franchise, which sells new and used Lego products, he’s finally earning a reliable salary. 

“I left the Navy in 2013, and this is the first salaried position that I’ve had,” Cairns said. “The only thing that’s been this stable for me has been my disability payments from [Veterans Affairs].”

But Cairns has found something beyond that in his new role at Bricks & Minifigs: a sense of purpose. “We do workshops here in the shop every weekend,” he said. “And getting to see kids … learn new things and develop interests that are going to be lifelong passions has got to be the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done.”